Taunton firefighter held without bail after allegedly assaulting ex-girlfriend for third time

Rebecca Hyman rhyman@tauntongazette.com

Thursday

Mar 1, 2018 at 1:28 PMMar 15, 2018 at 1:36 PM

TAUNTON — A Taunton firefighter was ordered held without bail after allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend with a lug wrench on Valentine’s Day and holding her arm so tightly he left bruises when she tried to get away, according to a Raynham police report.

This was the third time the firefighter has faced abuse charges related to the same victim.

Glenn D. Provost, 48, of 101 King Philip Road, Norton, was arraigned Feb. 21 in Taunton District Court before Judge Kevan Cunningham on charges of domestic assault and battery subsequent offense and assault with a dangerous weapon. Bail was set at $1,000 on those charges.

At the same court appearance, Cunningham ordered Provost held without bail on the alleged violation of his probation relating to the previous cases.

In 2016, Provost was charged with domestic assault and battery and assault and battery after he went to the victim’s house in Raynham to talk about their recent breakup, according to the police report.

The victim told police they had broken up two months before after dating for a year-and-a-half and he had been contacting her to try to get back together, according to the report.

The victim said when he came to her house in the middle of the night on April 23, 2016, he slapped her across the face, the police report said.

He allegedly also shoved the victim’s 24-year-old daughter and pushed both of them into an adjacent bedroom.

The suspect drove away but then returned and began knocking on the side door, at which point the victim and her daughter locked themselves in the bathroom and called police, the report said.

Provost later admitted to police he had slapped the victim, police said.

According to court papers, the case was continued without a finding for 15 months and he was ordered to undergo counseling.

A continuance without a finding is a form of probation in which a suspect admits to sufficient facts but does not actually enter a guilty plea and avoids a conviction if he does not violate probation.

Then on Aug. 12, 2017 — a few days after they had broken up again — Provost was arrested in Norton on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault and battery, according to a police report.

The victim said Provost showed up in her neighborhood while she was on a walk and repeatedly swerved his SUV in her direction when she refused to get in the vehicle — eventually hitting her leg with the bumper, according to the police report. She was not injured due to the vehicle’s low speed, the report said.

That same day, Raynham police assisted the victim in obtaining an emergency restraining order from an on-call judge — necessitating that Provost surrender his license to carry firearms and any firearms he owns to police.

The report said that a friend of his went back to his Norton house and assisted police in obtaining “all” Provost’s firearms, according to the Raynham police report. The report does not specify how many firearms he owns or what type.

That case was also continued without a finding, for 18 months, Provost was ordered to stay away from the victim and complete a “batterers program.”

On Feb. 20 of this year, the victim contacted Raynham police to report an incident that allegedly occurred on Feb. 14.

The victim told police Provost had been sending her messages through a mutual friend, left a Valentine’s present at the victim’s bedroom door on the patio and texted her asking to meet, according to the report. She replied “no thank you” but later agreed to meet him at the Dunkin' Donuts on Broadway in Raynham, the report said.

She said she got into his truck in the parking lot and told him she wanted him to stop having their friend contact her on his behalf, the report said.

At one point he reached into the back seat and pulled out a lug wrench and said, “You want me to hit you? You want to hit me?” and then struck himself in the head twice with the wrench, the report said.

She said she tried to jump out of the truck but he grabbed her arm so tightly he left bruise marks before eventually letting go of her when she threatened to call police, the report said.

A call to the Taunton Fire Department Thursday regarding Provost’s job status was not immediately returned.

Under civil service laws, the fire chief may suspend a firefighter for up to five days but only the appointing authority — in this case the Taunton City Council — can hire and fire.

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